CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA and SpaceX are targeting Tuesday night to launch to the International Space Station. This is NASA’s SpaceX 34th cargo run together. The rocket is scheduled to lift off at 7:16 p.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The dragon capsule will be packed with 6,500 pounds of supplies, hardware, and science experiments. This includes five experiments that have never flown before.
Seven crew members are currently stationed there.
Program manager, Bill Spetch, said continuing research like this is why missions like Artemis 2 can be successful.
“Artemis 2 didn’t happen in isolation,” Spetch said. “It happened because the International Space Station taught us how to maintain humanity in space and paved the way for the next era of exploration.”
One experiment, Odyssey, will evaluate how well earth-based microgravity simulators recreate space conditions.
“Studies on this topic could aid in the success of future exploration, and back on Earth, inform new approaches to curbing the spread of infections in hospitals,” Dr. Liz Warren, a program manager, said.
NASA will conduct multiple experiments, including Storie, which will monitor charged particles in Earth’s orbit that respond to space weather and can affect assets such as power grids and satellites.
Laplace could help researchers understand how planets in our solar system and beyond formed.
For green bone, researchers will grow human bone cells on a wooden scaffold… which could help treat weak bone conditions like osteoporosis in the future.
Spark will evaluate how red blood cells and the spleen change in space to help protect future astronauts for long space missions.
If launched on Tuesday, the spacecraft will arrive at the ISS on Thursday morning and remain there for about a month. The Falcon 9 booster is scheduled to return to the launch site.
Residents should be prepared for audible sonic booms about eight minutes after liftoff. Program manager Bill Spetch said continuing research like this is why missions like Artemis 2 can be successful.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.